| Background and Objectives. This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of fibrin glue plus conventional drain placement
versus conventional drain placement in the prevention of seromas after breast procedures. Among methods employed to reduce
seroma magnitude and duration, fibrin glue has been proposed in numerous studies, with controversial results. Design and
Setting. A prospective, randomized, controlled study of subjects who were randomized into control and experimental groups was
conducted. Methods. Collected data included age, surgeon, medical and surgical history, comorbidities, procedure performed,
number of axillary nodes, number of positive axillary nodes collected, final pathologic diagnosis, cancer stage, hospital stay,
postoperative day of drain removal, complications, incidence of seroma formation, interval to seroma resolution, and number
of postoperative visits. Results. Analysis of 60 patients showed similarly matched groups. Seroma formation rate was 24.1% in the
control group and 16.1% in the fibrin glue group. The rate of wound complications was similar. Conclusions. Although use of fibrin
sealant resulted in a nonsignificant decrease in seroma formation rate compared with that of drain placement, the higher cost and
cumbersome technique tend to indicate that there is no advantage to using fibrin glue over drain placement with the technique
described. |